Lover's Bound
by XxSunKissedMoonxX
Summary: After much decided consideration, our beloved feline character from the immensely popular film series, "Ice Age", decides to take a gander on his own, however in doing so, runs into the most strangest of creatures, including that of a female tiger...
1. Chapter 1: Catnapped

The sun rose into the sky, giving way for a marvelous display of hues such as blue, velvet, cherry, and indigo.

Morning had its peculiar beauty about it by nature, but beneath its massive field, lay an array of countless sleepless inhabitants - creatures of the earth. Among these creatures, was the fabled sabre-tooth feline, the titanic wooly-mammoth, and a quizzical-looking being, a prehistoric sloth who bared non-retractable claws.

The trio was formed briefly ago, after the wooly-mammoth joined forces with the clumsy-like sloth and made a robust sabre-tooth tiger a new member of the herd.

The pack was on the horizon. Nothing would stop them now. Nothing but -

"Manny!" Ellie called out, sounding her trunk forcefully while she did so.

The mammoth was cut from his reverie.

"Ellie? What is it? What happened?" her mate scurried immediately towards her side.

"She's gone! Peaches! Our baby! She's gone!"

Her husband turned pale in five seconds.

"Gone? N-no, she can't be! Peaches was with me this morning, I saw her,"

Manny attempted a shot at calming his nerves meanwhile alleviating his lover under the pressure.

"What if someone kidnapped her?" Ellie worried, "Manny, this can't be-"

A pair of miniscule rodents suddenly made their way into focus, their paws leaving submerged pawprints within the snow. "Ellie! What's wrong? We heard you from all the way down there!" a twin from the opossum brothers demanded to know.

The brothers had gained the privilege to comprehend the wooly-mammoth since their younger years, but the worry expressed within the tone of their voice was evidence enough that they still envisioned this mammoth as one of their kind; an opossum sister, regardless of their genetics.

"Eddie! Crash! Have you two seen Peaches around?" The mother was beginning to enter into a state of paranoia.

Suddenly, a brief trumpet was heard from far away; Ellie's ears perked up immediately at this sound.

"Peaches?" both mother and father called out. They received no response.

"My baby!" Ellie panicked as she ran ahead of Manny, both parents heading in the direction the sound emitted from.

A ferocious-looking feline suddenly stood amidst their way.

"Diego?" Manny asked, leaving no room for thought as he almost trampled his friend to death.

"Whoa, watch it!" the feline hissed, making time as he scurried beside the mammoths' side.

"It's Peaches!" Manny yelled thoughtlessly aloud.

"What?" the tiger wrinkled his nose, uncertain of what the father was referring to.

"Diego, she's missing!" Ellie called back towards the sabre this time.

"Whoa, hold on," Diego stopped fiercely in his tracks, both mammoths hesitating to follow in suit.

"She was with me,"

This caught the parents' attention.

"WITH _YOU_?" Manny angrily trumpeted as he turned back and raced towards his former companion.

"And Sid! Peaches said she was hungry so we went looking for something!" Diego dodged an oncoming attack.

"Manny, stop!" Ellie screamed as she sought to tame her wild husband.

"Like you weren't about to make my kid breakfast!" Manny roared as he swerved toward his right, hoisting the tiger into a tight grip by way of his trunk.

As if on cue, a much smaller mammoth appeared before the mammoths-deemed-parenthood. Peach's father dropped Diego in an instant.

"Daddy, what happened? What's going on? Why are you hurting Diego?" Peaches turned cautiously towards her mother. "Mommy?"

The smaller quip of brown fur raced towards her mother, seeking protection beneath the female's trunk.

"Peaches, I" Manny looked apathetically towards his daughter; Ellie shot him a disgraceful look.

Peach's father retraced his steps as he looked apologetically towards Diego. The feline barely managed to escape Manny's clutches that time.

Without further hesitation and no say from their part, the mammoth father disappeared into the foliage.


	2. Chapter 2: Departure

Manny stood alone on a hilltop as he gazed a passing herd from up above.

The smiles on their faces showed they were content, but was it a happiness that was more than just layers of superficiality?

Manny would never know.

He began to grow apart from Diego and Sid ever since their adventure landed them on a trek of a lifetime, a trek that included finding his soul mate, and, more importantly, a family to be a part of - to provide for.

However, the wooly-mammoth was beginning to have his doubts.

"_Maybe this isn't right._" Manny thought solemnly to himself, wind caressing him gently across brown fur.

"_Maybe he should leave._"

Just then, the sabre from before reappeared, full-fledged and ready to tackle the mammoth on should it present itself hostile once again.

"Diego," Manny managed to choke out. "about before .. I just wanted to say that I'm -"

"Manny, I'm leaving," the feline intervened.

The mammoth quickly shook that thought in disbelief.

"Wait, what?" he asked sternly, assuring to know if what he had thought just moments ago was turning into a tangible reality.

"I told you, I'm leaving," Diego answered once again.

"Listen, I was going to say 'sorry' but you-"

"It isn't that,"

Manny paused for a few moments. If he hadn't upset the tiger enough to make him leave, then why else would his friend suddenly decide to leave the pack?

"You've got a family, Manny. A daughter, a wife- things that are going to take up most of your time. It was great when we were bachelors roaming the land without a care, but now, you've got them. Peaches and Ellie need you. I've seen how defensive you are over them, and that's good, but.." Diego stopped for a moment to collect his composure "I have to go,".

Manny grew slightly irritated. "Well, if you go then you can expect Sid to stay with us!"

"Is that a peace offering?" Diego smirked as he turned opposite the mammoth.

"Hope you find everything you're looking for, Diego" Manny called out after him.

"Yeah.. you too,"

and the saber made course towards a new direction.

* * *

><p>"Where's Manny and Diego?" Sid asked as he helped Crash and Eddie set up a fire for the night.<p>

"They're there somewhere," Peach's mother answered as she cuddled her daughter closer to her body for protection and warmth from the spewing flames.

"That's too bad," Sid answered nonchalantly. "They woke up as friends this morning and now, this happens. What is it with mammals these days?" the sloth inadvertently asked to himself, unaware that his tail suddenly caught on fire.

"You're burning!" Eddie exclaimed. "Woo-hoo!" Crash chimed in.

"AAAAAEEEIIAAH!" Sid panicked, running smack-dab into a tree.

"Guys!" Ellie shouted as she sought after Sid, patting his tail quickly until the scorching flames were out.

"Sid?" she called out to him. The sloth was in limbo.

"Sid!" Ellie called again.

"Ellie," the sloth dryly managed to whisper out "did Manny ever tell you you have beautiful eyes?"

The wooly-mammoth breathed out a sigh of relief; Sid was back and alive again.

"Hey guys," Ellie's husband reappeared before the group amongst the bushes.

"Is everything all right?" his mate inquired.

"Uh," he glanced quickly at his daughter who was being playfully entertained by the two opossum brothers before her.

"No," he whispered cautiously. "Diego, well, he's decided to leave us,"

This caught his mate completely by surprise.

"What? Why? Don't tell me it was something you said?"

"Diego's leaving!" Sid exclaimed as he looked in utter disbelief into the male mammoth's small beady-rounded eyes.

"Shh! Not in front of the kids, Sid!" Ellie's mate scolded.

"But they didn't- I didn't," Sid's voice turned into a cowering whimper.

"We didn't even get to say goodbye," he looked on with sad eyes.

* * *

><p>Night fell faster than he thought. Diego was hot on his heels when he spotted a lonely looking fawn grazing upon an open prairie. He had inched close enough to get himself in range, but only to have the doe notice him and take off in a random direction.<p>

Diego grew furious. He had gone 9 hours without eating and was working up an appetite when he sought after the one that got away.

"Damn," the saber cussed under his breath, stopping to regain equilibrium. He knew how precious time was limited, but he had no other choice but to call it a night.

The saber proceeded to saunter cautiously, hazel eyes twinkling with the reflection of a forlorn sunset as they hid behind the veil of a starless night sky.

Diego searched everywhere, somewhere, anywhere, so long as he found a place to spend the next few remaining hours. The saber then came across a comfortable-looking burrow, chancing himself to take a risk inside and see whether or not there was something already accommodated there. He helped himself inside.

Diego rested his cinnamon-coated paws above the other as he turned beautiful emerald orbs towards the sky.

Perhaps life had something more in store for him after all..?

"Diego!"

Perhaps not.

"Diego, Diego, I found you!" Sid came strolling up the hill, heaving raspy breaths.

"Sid?" Diego questioned "What are you doing here? How did you find me?"

The sloth had recuperated his breath by now. "I got a little help from a pal,"

"Ugh," Diego moaned in disgust. He then immediately regretted stopping by Fast Tony's place and asking for directions regarding the mammals' great migration.

"Why'd you leave, Diego?" Sid's face turned serious.

"I," the saber had no choice but to answer. The sloth would have his way and find out whether his companion wanted him to or not.

"Manny, he's.."

"Yeah?"

"Well, he's got a family now, Sid, and like it or not, we're nothing but obstacles for him. We've had a great time, but... it's time to look forward toward our own lives now,"

"Well, you've still got me!"

The tiger didn't look surprised. "Good night, Sid." the tiger turned away from the sleazy mammal and disclosed his other thoughts from the rest of the world.


End file.
